150 Miles in 5 Days, Excited and Disappointed

[Amocat07]

Got 2 Radcity 5 Plus bikes last Saturday; so far, I'd give the bicycle shop that put them together with a D-, the quality of workmanship on the Radcity is a C- while the Step-Thru appears to be better.  I have been overall pleased with battery life, still breaking in but to do a full charge from <10% is a full 7 hours.  Charges from 40-60% take several hours as well but we're talking about lithium batteries so nothing unusual there.  On a full charge, I was in the range of 70+ miles, mostly on 0, 1 and 2 power assist levels with sporadically hitting the throttle to cross busy streets;  I gear up to 5,6, and 7 for most rides, and I probably average 15 - 16 mph. We're pretty flat here but winds have been 10-15 and higher for many of the rides. Support has been mostly positive, I've used e-mail, ask a question using their webpage, and called directly.  Most of the time, with email or ask a question online, I'm directed to videos that do a decent job of helping; however, when it doesn't help you're back online or on the phone which just takes more time.  I have identified one semi-major issue on the Radcity and surprisingly, they have not responded in a timely manner. This was actually a phone call and I was both disappointed in the initial answer and there has been no follow-up since they said they'd get back to me.

I'm halfway to 80, 7 knee surgeries, 3 knee replacements (yes, 3), and going electric is my last shot at pedaling my way around.  It has been very encouraging and I hope that as the bike gets fine-tuned and the one outstanding issue is resolved, I'll be giving the Radcity high marks.  As of this writing, the Radcity has 157 miles and the Step-Thru is at 67.

[jcvdd]

@Amocat07 - Congrats on your bike purchase and glad to hear that you are still very active after all your three replacements.
Why did you give your RadCity 5 Plus such poor marks? Was there anything in particular that was bad with the bike?
Granted your bike is not perfect, but for the price point, it appears that Rad is putting out a good product.
Check out many of the 4K priced e-bikes and there's is not much of a difference.
Thanks and be safe.

[Slowrider]

Got 2 Radcity 5 Plus bikes last Saturday; so far, I'd give the bicycle shop that put them together with a D-, the quality of workmanship on the Radcity is a C- while the Step-Thru appears to be better.

I'm confused.  Do you mean the bicycle shop did a poor job putting them together or you feel the RadCity is poor quality?  I have a RadCity 5 non step through version and I don't see any quality issues with it.  The components seem appropriate for the price.  I put mine together myself but I think it's best to have someone do it if you're not mechanically inclined or can't/ don't feel like manhandling a very heavy bike.  If you mean the shop then that would make more sense.  I thought about having mine assembled but the closest bike shop that would touch an ebike is an hour drive away from my home.

[FridayIsTheBestDay]

I can't quite find in your post what you don't like about it.

So far I am about 700 miles in with a rad city 5 step through. I would, be hard pressed to come up with any complaints other than it being a bit heavy.  But I knew that coming in.

[Amocat07]

What's been wrong, failed power assist controller, front rack mount welded on crooked, must adjust derailleur throughout most rides, seat post to short - advertised up to 6'5" - I'm 6'2" and had to buy seat pot extension, battery key cylinder will not open, at 200 lbs, I easily bottom out front forks. I'm just over 600 miles.  The shop that assemble the bikes did not have derailleur or brakes properly adjusted and did not mention problem with front rack alignment or issues with the key cylinder

[NaturallyRC]

Wow. No wonder you're disappointed. Hope you get those issues resolved. I commend your mileage results and the amount of pedaling you do to get there. I consider myself a miser with the assist button, but you're crushing me. 

What's been wrong, failed power assist controller, front rack mount welded on crooked, must adjust derailleur throughout most rides, seat post to short - advertised up to 6'5" - I'm 6'2" and had to buy seat pot extension, battery key cylinder will not open, at 200 lbs, I easily bottom out front forks. I'm just over 600 miles.  The shop that assemble the bikes did not have derailleur or brakes properly adjusted and did not mention problem with front rack alignment or issues with the key cylinder

[Slowrider]

What's been wrong, failed power assist controller, front rack mount welded on crooked, must adjust derailleur throughout most rides, seat post to short - advertised up to 6'5" - I'm 6'2" and had to buy seat pot extension, battery key cylinder will not open, at 200 lbs, I easily bottom out front forks. I'm just over 600 miles.  The shop that assemble the bikes did not have derailleur or brakes properly adjusted and did not mention problem with front rack alignment or issues with the key cylinder

What happened to your controller?  Did the bike just stop working?  I'm having an issue with my speedometer so they think a new controller will fix it.

That's crazy with the front mount welded crooked.  Is it something you can see with your eye or have to use a measuring device?  Mine looks straight but I haven't did any measurements.  You should have returned it for this problem since there's no way to fix this.  At least I don't see how you could.

What do you mean the battery key cylinder will not open?  The key won't unlock the battery from the bike?

I'm about 260 lbs and haven't bottomed out the front fork.  Of course I take mine on pavement.  If it's just bottoming out from small bumps on pavement there's something wrong with it.  it should be fine on mostly smooth trails but if you're taking it on mountain bike trails I would be careful.  I wouldn't trust the fork to hold up to that because it's not strong enough.  It could snap if you go down on the front wheel hard.

I assembled it myself and maybe I got lucky because the derailleur was adjusted perfectly from the factory.  It sounds like whatever bike shop you had do this isn't very good because that's an easy thing to adjust.  It's not e-bike specific so any bike shop should be able to get this right.

Were you able to get anything sorted out yet?  Even though you're probably outside of the return period this weld issue seems to be a defect and you're surly still under warranty.  I've been working with Rad customer service and while I can't say they've been able to fix my issue yet they have been working hard to help and are very polite.

[FL-GK]

Got 2 Radcity 5 Plus bikes last Saturday; so far, I'd give the bicycle shop that put them together with a D-, the quality of workmanship on the Radcity is a C- while the Step-Thru appears to be better.  I have been overall pleased with battery life, still breaking in but to do a full charge from <10% is a full 7 hours.  Charges from 40-60% take several hours as well but we're talking about lithium batteries so nothing unusual there.  On a full charge, I was in the range of 70+ miles, mostly on 0, 1 and 2 power assist levels with sporadically hitting the throttle to cross busy streets;  I gear up to 5,6, and 7 for most rides, and I probably average 15 - 16 mph. We're pretty flat here but winds have been 10-15 and higher for many of the rides. Support has been mostly positive, I've used e-mail, ask a question using their webpage, and called directly.  Most of the time, with email or ask a question online, I'm directed to videos that do a decent job of helping; however, when it doesn't help you're back online or on the phone which just takes more time.  I have identified one semi-major issue on the Radcity and surprisingly, they have not responded in a timely manner. This was actually a phone call and I was both disappointed in the initial answer and there has been no follow-up since they said they'd get back to me.

I'm halfway to 80, 7 knee surgeries, 3 knee replacements (yes, 3), and going electric is my last shot at pedaling my way around.  It has been very encouraging and I hope that as the bike gets fine-tuned and the one outstanding issue is resolved, I'll be giving the Radcity high marks.  As of this writing, the Radcity has 157 miles and the Step-Thru is at 67.

What is the one issue support said they would get back to you on but did not?